Sharpe the Sharpest of NFL seventh-round draft selections

(Photos courtesy of Eric Bakke, Denver Broncos)

Talk of Fame Network

Shannon Sharpe was a wide receiver at a small college and a seventh-round draft pick who didn’t start an NFL game until his second season.

That didn’t prevent our listeners and readers of the Talk of Fame Network from voting Sharpe the greatest seventh-round draft pick of all-time. Sharpe received a whopping 53.6 percent of the vote despite a field that included three other Hall of Famers and the second leading scorer of all-time.

Wilson was named to the NFL’s 75th anniversary team plus the 1960s all-decade team. Schmidt was named to the 1950s all-decade team, Bell the all-time AFL team and Sharpe the 1990s all-decade team.

As usual, the three Talk of Fame Network hosts disagreed with the results. Rick Gosselin and Clark Judge both cast their ballots for Schmidt and Borges went with Bell.

“One guy who always rang the bell during his career was Bobby Bell,” Borges said. “He was a great, great linebacker that many may have forgotten because it’s been so long but he’s my choice. He could cover Shannon Sharpe or kill the quarterback trying to throw to him. Great player.”

Sharpe, out of tiny Savannah State, ranks third all-time among tight ends with 815 receptions and won three Super Bowl rings with two different franchises, the Denver Broncos in 1997-98 and the Baltimore Ravens in 2000. Schmidt went to 10 Pro Bowls and played on two NFL championship teams in the 1950s.

“I’ll take Joe Schmidt,” Judge said. “He was tough, physical and just marvelous. The guy was named to nine All-Pro teams, was a four-time league defensive MVP and helped turn Motown into Title Town — with Detroit winning three NFL championships in six years. Now tell me the last time the Lions won anything. The defense rests.”

Next up, the Talk of Fame will poll listeners and readers on the greatest sixth round draft pick of all time.

Rick Gosselin

Rick Gosselin has covered the NFL for 44 years, including stints reporting on the Lions, Giants, Chiefs and Cowboys. He has been a Pro Football Hall of Fame voter since the 1980s and won the Dick McCann Award in 2004 for “long and distinguished reporting on professional football.”

This Weeks Poll Question

About Us

Whenever a notable player reaches or nears retirement, the first questions asked is, “Is he a first-ballot Hall of Famer?”
Well, we have the answer. That’s because our weekly radio program is hosted by three long-time NFL writers: Clark Judge, Ron Borges and Rick Gosselin are three of the 48 selectors for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Here’s the hook: where other programs call their analysts “insiders,” our guys ARE insiders. Because they’re on the “inside,” these guys have access to some of the biggest names in pro football. Our two-hour show puts a Hall-of-Fame perspective on players, coaches, plays, issues and stadiums from the past, present and future.